Proposal
by CallMeFireFly
Summary: This is something that popped into my head as I watched The Originals Friday night. The way I think Elijah and Hayley SHOULD'VE ended that night in the gazebo.


_**Because the entire time I was watching this part of the episode, all I wanted to hear was this…**_

Hayley stood at the entrance of the gazebo, when Elijah turned to her. "I was wrong when I said that you were a Mikaelson, you're not a Mikaelson, you don't have a Mikaelson heart." He stroked her face and looked deep into her eyes. "There's just too much good in you. That's why I love you."

Hayley looked at his lips, the lips she had dreamed of every night for five years, and closed her eyes. "I love you, too", she said softly and leaned in to kiss him. He met her halfway, he always did, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as she pulled him into her. "Elijah," she whispered, "I will follow you anywhere."

Elijah pulled back to look at her again, and licked his lips. "I know. But not like this." Hayley's confused look told him to go on. "Hayley, I don't know exactly what I'm doing here, but I do know that there is no place I would rather be than by your side. You and Hope mean everything to me. I hope you know that."

Hayley nodded slowly. "I do."

Elijah smiled. "I was hoping you would say that." He removed her arms from his neck and took her hands in his, leading her to sit on one of the chairs as he sat next to her. Turning to her, he closed his eyes and exhaled sharply.

"What? What is it?" Hayley was getting anxious. This was not like him at all and it was making her nervous.

"Hayley, I can never explain fully how much you mean to me, nor could I ever have comprehended it myself. But over the last few years I have come to know a part of myself that I would have never known could exist...not until you." He paused to look at her, gauging her reaction to his words. He could feel the tears forming at the power behind his feelings and looked down at his lap. "In Freya's dreamworld, all I thought of was you. You, me, and Hope, together...happy." He looked up again at her. "As a family."

Hayley's hand came up to her mouth in a gasp. "Elijah, I-"

"Please," he held up a hand to stop her, "let me finish. What I want more than anything is to stand beside you for all eternity. I know you love me, and Hope will have to get to know me as she is now. But as odd as the circumstances are, I would like her to know me as more than her uncle. Hayley, I want to make you happy for the rest of our lives. I want to be an uncle to Hope, yes, but I want to be more to you. I'm not asking to take Niklaus' place. I would never want that. I will protect her with all of my being, as I will you. Hayley," he paused again for a long breath. "Marry me, Hayley."

Hayley stared at him unblinking. "Elijah...I don't know what to say."

He dropped her hands and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well that was definitely not the reaction I expected…"

Hayley jumped and reached across to grasp his face in her hands. "No! That's so not what I meant." She closed her eyes and tried to gather her thoughts. "Elijah, I love you... so much. I have waited five long years to hear you say that. So yeah, it kind of caught me off guard." She stood and began to pace, hooking her fingers in the belt loops on her jeans and turning away from him. She turned on her heel to face him and smiled. "I'm sorry, I'm ready now. Ask again."

Elijah smiled and ducked his head. When he looked back up at her, he rose to his feet and walked slowly to stand in front of her. "Hayley Marshall, you are not yet a Mikaelson officially, but I would like to change that." Slowly he dropped to one knee and took her hand in both of his. He looked up at her, tears glistening in her eyes and smiled. "Marry me, Hayley. Spend the rest of our eternity by my side as my equal, as my bride."

Hayley couldn't speak, her throat felt tight and she felt like she would burst into tears if she did. So she did the best thing she could do. As a lone tear rolled down her cheek, she nodded, smiling and laughing quietly.

Elijah nearly knocked her over as he straightened from his kneeling position and picked her up, swinging her happily and laughing along with her. When he set her down he threw his head back and exhaled. "You have no idea how difficult that was for me."

Hayley stopped laughing and pulled his face down to eye level with her. "What? Why?"

Elijah sobered quickly and kissed her. "Hayley, you have to know why. I have loved and lost, and the thought of loving you as much as I do terrifies me. The thought of losing you cripples me. No matter that you are my equal in every sense of the word," he put his hand up as she began to protest, "and yes I am aware of how well you can defend yourself. I must tell you, to not be needed is a very new concept for me." Hayley smiled and he leaned over to kiss her once more. "Still, I cannot wilfully stay away from you any longer. I have tried and failed to see you as nothing more than a friend. Five years with nothing more to do than think and wish, to know that you patiently waited for me, humbles me and shakes me to my core at the same time. I am yours, Hayley. I have always been yours, and I will forever be yours. Mind, body, and soul. The power you have over me is mind-boggling, and I would be curious as to whether or not you understand that hold. I could never be without you."

Hayley was crying fully now, her tears falling freely. "I do, Elijah. I do understand, and your hold on me is no different. I dreamt every night of you in those five years. I swear at times I could _feel_ you. Feel your touch, hear your voice, smell you standing next to me." Her face flushed as the tears stopped and her breathing kicked up a notch. "I could feel you inside me, and the times when I was close, the only thing to push me over the edge were thoughts of you. I replayed every time we made love in my mind and while it was painful not to have you there, I knew you would come back to me."

Elijah closed in on her, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other going up to wrap his hand in her hair. He pulled her head back gently, running his nose up her throat and inhaling. "Hayley, you are everything to me. I look forward to hearing you come apart under me tonight...as my fiancé."

Hayley's eyes rolled in her head. The things this man could do to her with mere words was amazing. "Please…"

"Please what, my love?"

"Take me inside."

"It would be my pleasure."

The door flew open as the couple burst into the room. Clothes came off quickly and each of them fought for dominance as they landed on the bed.

Elijah won, and he smiled as he gazed upon this woman that had his whole heart. "I love you, Hayley. With all that I am, I vow to make you the happiest woman for the rest of our existence. Together."

Hayley touched his cheek softly. "Those words have never sounded better or meant me to more than they do right now."

Elijah bent down to kiss her as he slid inside her warm body. The sensation was almost too much and he stilled. Hayley wrapped her legs around his waist and kept him locked within her embrace. "I love you, Elijah. I will always love you."

When he finally began to move the Earth seem to freeze. All they knew was each other, and it was hard to tell where she ended and he began. He loved her slowly, taking his time to memorize every curve again. He swiveled his hips and she cried out. He would never tire of being with her like this. The only thing that would make this experience more pleasurable would be if he were making love to his wife. An idea occurred to him and he stopped for a moment.

"Elijah?" Hayley's eyes were worried and Elijah brought a hand up to smooth out her expression.

"Marry me."

Hayley smirked and smiled. "I'm pretty sure I already agreed to do that."

Elijah repeated his statement. "Marry me."

Hayley narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out what he was getting at. "You mean, now?"

Elijah's grin stretched across his face and he nodded slowly. "Maybe not in our current state of undress, but tomorrow. In the meadow. Or the next day. It matters not really, but I would like to have a ceremony as soon as possible. Especially as we have no clue what Marcel's next move is."

Hayley nodded in agreement. "Ok, I agree. But who could marry us?"

Elijah began to move his hips again and Hayley moaned in pleasure. "I'm sure we can find someone willing. I may even ask Niklaus to officiate. Kol and Rebekah have gone. Freya is busy trying to fashion more of the cure for us should we need it. It would appear that Hope will serve as your maid of honor." He hit a spot that made Hayley growl softly and he smiled. "Is that a yes?"

Hayley nodded. "I would probably say yes to just about anything right now. Just don't stop...ever."

"I thought that was the point in forever."

Hayley counted the heartbeats under her ear. Five years without him seemed like a lifetime, but now that she had Elijah back, she couldn't let him go. Not ever. She smiled against his chest when she felt him playing with her hair.

"Have you decided, my love?" His velvety voice sent chills down her spine.

"Tomorrow is fine with me. As soon as the sun comes up is fine. Hell, we could get out of this bed, go get married, and then pick up right where we left off, and I would be totally fine." She lifted her head to look up at him just as he leaned down for a kiss.

"Hayley!"

Klaus...but he seemed panicked.

 _Oh no! Hope!_

Even before she grabbed Elijah's discarded dress shirt to throw on, her gut told her something was wrong, and it was Hope.

She got to the family room where Klaus and Hope were, Klaus stoking the fire and Hope clutching her head.

"I'm so cold." Hope's tiny voice catapulted Hayley into action. She threw herself into the room and scooped Hope into her arms, holding Hope's head against her shoulder. Hope's nose began to bleed and Hayley knew then that this was no ordinary illness.

"This is something bigger than us, Klaus. Where's Freya?!"

Klaus' eyes widen. "I haven't seen her in hours. I was spending the day with my daughter."

"Find her." Elijah had entered the room quietly. "We need her. "

"Do I look like a tracking dog, brother?" Klaus stood and addressed his brother. "We need to find out what the bloody hell this is and how it found my daughter!"

Hayley held her hand up between the brothers. "Enough! Fighting will get us nowhere." She scooped Hope up and took her to the couch, rocking her slowly. "We will find out what this is and we will fight it." Her gaze found Elijah. He could feel her pain from where he stood and knew he would stop at nothing to make sure Hope would be alright.


End file.
